To Return To Love
by Juzu
Summary: It started out great...but then something happened...now it's up to the twins of Aeris and Sephiroth to bring their parents back into love...can they do it without their parents knowing? Please RR!
1. chapter 1

(Author's Note: Hello! Before you read this please read my story called From Darkness to Light. You'll have more of an idea as to what happened before this that way. Thank you and now on to the first chapter of To Return to Love! Enjoy! Please R/R!)

****

Disclaimer: Aeris and Sephiroth are not mine and neither is Kalm. They belong to FF7 which belongs to Squaresoft not me!

****

****

**Chapter 1**

**Happy News**

-1 year later after the destruction of Meteor-

The morning sun slowly peeked up from over the distant hills. The dark sky of night began to fade along with the stars. The early morning rays were red and gold and bathed everything in light chasing away the shadows of the past night. The sleepy town was slow to begin the process of waking up. The houses were still dark inside but the sun's light seeped in through the windows. After awhile the town began to stir as people began to rise and get ready for the start of a new day.

The keepers of shops began the trip to the store to open for the day. People gathered their lists and made the short trip to those stores to buy their food and other items. Soon the sun had fully risen and on the streets were people with many things to do on their mind before the sun set that evening.

But in one house nothing was moving yet. This house was newly built by about a year. It was white with maroon colored shutters on both sides of the windows. There was a porch that wrapped around this side of it and ended with a swing. Between the porch and the sidewalk that led to the house there was a flower garden. There were many different kinds of flowers some that opened with the sun and others that open all year around. A bird bath was next to where the porch turned a corner.

Slowly sleep left him as his mako green eyes began to open. He didn't move yet though. She was still asleep next to him. His angel. He looked down at where her head rested against his chest. He smiled to himself. He never would have thought that this would happen. Never would have dreamed that she would love him as she did after his bout of madness.

He held her tighter as he thought about all he had done and what she had done for him. He also wondered as to how they were still alive after everything was done. It puzzled him to no end but yet even she didn't know if her people, her race, had anything to do with their being alive. He held a strand of her long golden brown hair in his hand and twirled it around his fingers. She let out a contented sigh and fell into a deeper slumber.

"Aeris?" he asked softly.

"Mmmm…Sephiroth," she said as she was roused and opened her soft emerald green eyes.

"Why don't you stay here and I'll make breakfast," he said as he started to get up.

"Oh no! I'll get it!" she said sitting up.

"No let me," he said.

"No I'll get it," she said standing up and going to the closet to pick out her clothes for the day.

"No really I'll do it," he said standing and stretching.

"Really Sephiroth. We've already remodeled the kitchen once this month because of the last time you cooked," she said jokingly.

"Why Aeris I'm hurt," he said with fake hurt in his voice.

She smiled and shook her head then picked up her brush and began to run it through her hair. When that was done she pulled in back into a braid and tied it with a pink ribbon.

"I'll make breakfast," she said once she was dressed.

He nodded in defeat as he went to the closet to get his own clothes for the day. She left the room for the kitchen. He watched her as she left. She wore a light pink shirt with sleeves that went to her elbows and fit her perfectly. She wore a pair of white pants with the same color pink pattern of roses at the bottom. The room's door closed softly behind her.

He turned back to dressing himself. He selected a sleeveless black shirt and put it on. He also selected a pair of black slacks. He got a button up long sleeved black shirt and put it on over his over one but didn't button it. He picked up his own brush and brushed out his long silver hair. He then left the bedroom and walked into the living room.

The living room was big and spacious. It had 2 forest green chairs with flower patterns facing the main door. There was a brown and red couch with a pattern of leaves on it against the wall on the right of the door. Opposite the couch was a black piano. He walked over to it and ran his hand over it. Next to the piano was the staircase that led to the finished basement.

The sounds of Aeris humming came from the kitchen in the next room. The smells of her cooking drifted into the living room after a few minutes. Sephiroth smiled and sat down at the piano.

Aeris hummed to herself as she went about her cooking. A melody drifted into the room from the living room. It was the same tune that she was humming. She smiled to herself as Sephiroth continued to play and she hummed along. She looked around the kitchen.

It was white with a pink stencil border just below the ceiling. There was a handmade wooden table in front of 3 windows that had pink curtains trimmed in white lace. In one of the places at the table was a potted plant. Aeris smiled again as she filled a glass with water and poured it into the pot.

She put the glass down next to the sink and closed her eyes as she stopped humming and listened to the song being played in the other room. She turned back to her cooking.

"Breakfast is ready," she whispered in his ear a few minutes later from where she stood behind him.

He leaned back against her as he stopped playing the song. He turned his head to look at her and gave her a quick kiss. She blushed and stepped back as he stood. He smiled and shook his head as he followed her into the kitchen and sat down at the table. They ate in comfortable silence.

After breakfast Aeris went outside to work on her flower garden and Sephiroth left to hunt out monsters that still threatened the area. He didn't come back until later in the afternoon. She had just finished her work outside when he rode the gold chocobo up to the house.

"Have a good day?" she asked with a smile.

"It was alright. Didn't find much. Most of the monsters in the area are gone because of me," he said with a shrug.

"Oh well. This town is the closest to what remains of Midgar so there will probably be more monsters to come maybe not today but there will be more," she said looking around the small town of Kalm.

"Yeah but I can handle them," Sephiroth said as he led the chocobo around to the shed in which they kept him.

"It's about time so I'll start dinner," she called after him.

"But I want to," he turned and smiled at her. 

"No I'll do it," she said brushing dirt off her pants.

"But…"

"No Sephiroth. It's okay really. I can do it just fine," she said.

"Okay. Have it your way," shaking his head he took the chocobo to the shed and groomed it. The chocobo warked softly at the feel of the brush on his feathers. Sephiroth laughed to himself and continued to brush him until the chocobo looked like he might fall asleep. He made sure it had plenty of greens and fresh water then went into the house to get cleaned up for dinner. 

After dinner Sephiroth was sitting in one of the green chairs while Aeris sat at the piano playing a tune. He was reading the news paper and listening to her playing the soft melody.

"Anything new today?" she asked as she ended the song.

"No…not that I can tell," he said as he turned a page.

"Oh well. This is a small town so not much will happen that we don't know about," she shrugged.

"But this might get your attention. 'Committee headed by ex-Shinra employee Reeve has been given permission to rebuild Midgar. More on page 4.' That sounds interesting," he said looking at her.

"It does. Maybe they need help. That's what you could do! You could help get rid of the monsters there! I'm sure he would be happy to let you help!" she said.

"Sure…after all I've…"

"Don't start thinking about it. You get all depressed when you do," she said standing and walking over to him.

He folded the newspaper up and set it aside as she sat down in his lap. She laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Neither spoke for a few minutes.

"Since we were talking about news…I have some for you," she said opening her eyes.

"Oh?" he said playing with a few strands of her hair.

"Yeah," she said and raised her head so she could see his face.

"What is it?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and let go of her hair.

For a moment she just looked at her lap with her head bowed.

"Aeris?" he asked concerned about her lack of answer.

She looked up at him and smiled.

"I'm pregnant," she said.

For a second he just watched her. Then he looked out the window in the front door not saying anything.

"Sephiroth?" she asked timidly.

"You're pregnant…" a smile slowly spread across his face and she relaxed. He looked at her.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"I think I love you more than ever," he whispered and buried his face against her neck.

"And I love you too," she said and held him tight. 

"I'm happy Aeris. Now my life will be complete," he said.

"I'm glad," she said.

He leaned back away from her to get a better look at her. 

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing. Can't I just look at you?" he asked.

"Oh you," she said and hit the side of his face playfully.

He laughed and stood up with her in his arms.

"What are you doing?" she demanded as she threw her arms around his neck.

"What's it look like? I'm carrying you," he said.

"Put me down!" she said.

"Nope," he replied.

"Sephiroth!"

"Yes Aeris?"

"Oh fine," she grumbled and let him carry her.

"There," he laughed as he set her down on the foot of the bed. She crossed her arms with an annoyed look on her face. He kept laughing.

"You're just mad that I won that little disagreement," he said shaking his head.

"So what if I am?" she asked but couldn't help from smiling.

"See! You can't stay mad at me," he stated.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"You're hopeless. Always getting what you want…"

"I haven't gotten everything yet," he said softly sitting down next to her.

"No…not yet. That's right," she said as he leaned closer to her.

"But in a few months time that will change," he said.

"It will," she said as he pushed her back down on the bed.

"I love you," he said.

"And I you," she said as he kissed her.

He pulled back and looked at her.

"Aeris?"

"Yes?" she asked opening her eyes.

"Stay with me forever," he said.

"Why do you say that? You know I will," she said giving him a confused look.

"I…just want to be sure. I know we've been over this but…I just feel…" she put a finger to his lips to silence him.

"I'll always be with you. No matter what. Always," she said softly.

"Promise?"

"You're acting like a little kid you know that. Gosh now I'm worried about how our child will act but yes…I promise," she said.

He gave her a soft smile and kissed her again.

                                    ****


	2. chapter 2

****

(Author's Note: Hello everyone. Here is the next chapter.)

Disclaimer: Anything from FF7 is not mine. It belongs to Squaresoft. Dete and Sandman are mine. 

****

**Chapter 2**

**Dete **

-16 years later-

"Mom! I'm home!" 

No answer.

Dete shrugged and dropped her bag on the kitchen table. She went to the cabinet to find an after school snack. She chose a piece of chocolate and sat down at the table. She sighed and pulled a book out of her bag. Then she sat back and brushed her chin length golden brown silver streaked hair out of her bright green eyes. She finished her chocolate and opened the book to start her homework.

She worked on her homework for about an hour when the front door opened and Aeris walked in with an empty basket in her hands.

"Hello Dete," she said tilting her head to the side a bit.

"Hey mom," Dete said dropping her pen onto the piece of paper she was writing on.

"Have a good day at school?" Aeris asked setting the basket on the countertop and getting out things to begin dinner.

"Yeah it was okay. A friend asked if I could spend the weekend at her house," Dete said.

"I guess you can. Since Midgar was rebuilt the people here are nicer and more trustworthy…except for some," Aeris sounded angry as she said the last few words.

"What's wrong?" Dete asked getting up from her seat to get plates from the cabinet.

 "It's nothing," Aeris said.

"You were thinking about my dad again weren't you?"

"Don't even talk about him!" Aeris snapped and spun to face Dete.

"Thought so. You always get mad like this when anything is mentioned about him," Dete said setting the plates on the table and moving her school things off of it.

"I do not!" Aeris said. Dete shrugged and finished setting the table. 

"So how was the flower selling business today?" she asked trying to change the subject.

"Oh…it was good. Lot's of people came by the shop today," Aeris said.

"That's good. You seem to have a knack for growing things," Dete said. Aeris smiled and went about cooking dinner.

                                    ****

After the dishes from dinner were cleaned Dete walked up the stairs to her bedroom. It was painted a pale sea green color and had white carpet. The border along the ceiling was of a dragon. There were glow in the dark stars and planets and stuff on the ceiling. Her bed was a twin size had 3 pillows and a stuffed animal she had gotten for her birthday a few years earlier. Her blankets were different shades of purple and had a dark red one on top.

She had a big window parallel to her bed with dark green curtains and dark purple and white lace draped along the top. She walked over to her dresser and set her watch and rings down on top of their cases. She then went over and turned on her radio. When it didn't play a good song her turned it off and turned her cd player on. Once that was done she sat down on her bed and got her books out of her bag to finish her homework. 

After she had finished that she picked up her book and opened it to the place she had stopped reading. She read for about a half hour before she got tired and went down stairs to get the phone.

"Hey mom! I'm going to call my friend and tell her I can go to her house this weekend!" she said picking it up.

"Okay!" Aeris said from the living room. Dete went back upstairs and sat down on her bed again and dialed the number.

It rang 2 times before it was answered.

"Yes?" a man's voice asked dully.

"Hi. Is…?" Dete asked but didn't get to finish.

"Just a minute. PHONE'S FOR YOU!" Dete cringed and held the phone away from her ear.

When she put the phone back to her ear she heard a crash.

"I'm coming!" her friend's voice said.

"What just happened?" the man asked.

"…oh nothing…hello?" her friend asked getting the phone from him.

"Hey. My mom said its okay for me to come over. What about your dad?" Dete said.

"He won't care. This place is big enough I doubt we'll even see him," she said.

"Yeah that's right. You only live in the biggest house in this city," Dete said shaking her head.

"Yep. Dad said it used to be the Shinra tower."

"Cool. Do you want me to bring anything when I come over?" Dete asked.

"Unless you want to. I think we've got plenty of things to do," her friend said.

"All right. I think I'll bring some cds but that's all," Dete said looking around her room.

There was a knock on her door.

"I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow," Dete said.

"Sure. Bye," her friend said and hung up.

Dete hung up and opened the door.

"Can you take the dog for a quick walk?" Aeris asked.

"Sure," Dete said and followed her down the stairs.

She put the phone back in its cradle and went out the back door. The back yard was big and had a few different flower beds everywhere. In one corner of the yard was a mimosa tree that was just starting to bloom. She walked over to a willow tree and whistled.

Their dog came out of the shadow it was sleeping in and ran over to her. He jumped up and down.

"Okay calm down. No! DOWN!" the dog sat down. Dete shook her head as she put the leash on him.

"Come on," she said and they left the yard for the street. They walked down the barely lit sidewalks. There were cars everywhere. Their passengers either going home for the day or going to the nightshift of work. 

The night was cool and stars could be seen. When Midgar had been rebuilt the plate had not. That way everyone could see the sun and the night sky and get the rain when it came.  Dete and her dog named Sandman walked down their usual route. She waved at people she knew and some who just waved to be polite. Their walk took about an hour to complete.

When she got home she fed and watered him and then went inside to get ready for bed. 

                                    ****


	3. chapter 3

(Author's Note: Hello! Sorry it took awhile to get this chapter up but it is co-written by me and the author Rueh. Most of the chapters will be for that matter…oh well.)

****

Disclaimer: FF7 and Squaresoft are not mine. Dete is mine. Rueh belongs to Rueh.

****

****

****

**Chapter 3**

**Dete…and her other half…?**

****

"Aww, man.  Dad, why did you have to go off and do that again?"

"Do what again?"

"You left your stinking boots in the middle of the floor again, AND…you yell on the phone!"

"Now who's the one yelling?"

"Bite your tongue!"

"I can't believe the Great Sephiroth is reduced to this…"

"Not so 'great' after all, are ya?" Rueh challenged.

Sephiroth let his aqua green eyes look over the room. It was plain with not much for decoration. It had big windows on one wall but that was really all. It had a few chairs and a coffee table at its center though. But his eyes fell on the biggest object there. "You broke the couch!"

"DID NOT!"

"Then why's it laying on its side like that? You killed it!" he accused.

Rueh crossed her arms with a smug look on her face. "Guess you'll have to find your way to your bed at night now, won't ya?"

Sephiroth stared wide eyed at his daughter. "How'd you know I sleep on the couch?

"I didn't…so that's where all that snoring was coming from!" Rueh laughed at the pouty look on her silver haired father's face.

"Go buy a new one!"

"No, you do it! I never use that stupid couch anyways. Besides, you don't ever give me any money!" Rueh nodded and her long white hair fell into her face. She picked out a lock and assessed the black ends. "Great, and now I've got split ends!"

_'Still looks like you dipped those ends in black paint…'_ Sephiroth thought and out loud said, "I thought you had money? What, with all those kids you beat up at school. I thought you would at least take something to compensate your time and effort."

Rueh brushed her hair back over her shoulder and looked at him again.  "NORMAL parents lecture their kids about NOT getting into fights OR stealing. Why are you insisting I take other peoples money?"

Sephiroth shrugged. "I don't know…so I don't have to give you MY money?"

"…before I forget, my friends coming over…don't do anything stupid…or else."

"Or else what?"

"Don't MAKE me come over there…"

"Or what?"

"…or." Rueh smiled evilly. "I'll cook YOUR dinner."

Sephiroth's face dropped. "Anything but THAT."

"Oh come on, it's not like its YOU cooking. At least when I'M done the kitchen is still standing."

"You know what? I don't have to put up with this. Go to your room!"

Rueh's aqua eyes went dull, as did her voice. "Yeah right, and what room would that be?"

Sephiroth growled in annoyance. "There's more than enough rooms in this building, pick one!"

"Fine…I want…the 70th floor!"

"But that's my room!"

"Apparently not. Seems to me you've been having a hay day on the couch! No wonder it's broke, with all that lard and all…"

"Who're you calling 'lard'?!"

"Oh, he stands about 6'1, aqua green eyes, silver hair, bucked teeth…have ya seen him?"

"I do NOT have bucked teeth!"

"Oh! So you HAVE seen him. Well, you can tell that idiot for me to stay out of my room!"

"Who are you calling an idiot?"

"You."

"Then I guess it must run in the family."

"…no, insanity does…and what was THAT suppose to mean anyways…?" Rueh asked shaking her head.

"Think anything you like," Sephiroth called as he disappeared into the elevator.

"Hey!" Rueh yelled waving her fist in the air. "Where do you think you're going!?  I'm not done yet!"

****

-3 hours later-

"DAD! Oh DAD! Where are you hiding this time?"

"Stop yelling, and I'm not hiding…this time. What do you want NOW?"

"One word for ya…F-O-O-D. There is not a scrap of food to be seen."

"Why didn't you ask the cook to get you something?"

"I haven't seen him for a year. Are you sure we still have one?"

"Quite, he cooks my meal every night."

"And why haven't I been invited to dinner?"

"You never asked."

"Should have I? I thought that was part of the job description of a parent. To care and FEED their kids."

"My only job here is to torment those who work for me…but I guess you don't work for me do you? No, you don't ever do anything useful." Sephiroth paused. "Don't you ever go to sleep?" Sephiroth grumbled.

"What do you care?"

"I don't, I was just saying it's like eleven thirty at night."

"And your point being…?"

"Do you ever sleep?"

"Not with you hanging around I don't."

Sephiroth looked hurt. "How could you say something like that to me?"

"It wasn't hard," Rueh said crossing her arms in front of her. Sephiroth looked down at the book he had been reading for a few minutes. Rueh cleared her throat to let him know she was still there.

"Oh fine! There's a kitchen on the 54th floor! I'm sure the cook is still up," Sephiroth said dully.

"Thank you!" Rueh said and ran to the elevator. She got in and pushed the button and her descent began. It only took a few minutes but Rueh wasn't very patient because of her hunger.

When she got there all the lights were off and no one was there. She looked around then shrugged and turned the light on. She found the refrigerator and opened it.

"Oooooo…chocolate…" she said upon seeing the slightly still frozen chunk. She picked it up and began to knaw on it as she went back to the elevator. _'No cook in sight! And dad said that he would still be up…'_ Rueh grumbled to herself as she went up in the elevator to the room she claimed as her own…for now.

It was a dark grey color and had a black dragon painted on all the walls. The dragon was outlined with glow in the dark paint. And its eyes, spikes, teeth, and claws were the same glow in the dark paint. Her bed was on the opposite wall of the door and covered in fluffy pillows. She brushed out her hair, finished her chocolate, and 5 hours later went to bed…finally.

                                    ****


	4. chapter 4

(Author's Note: Well…this chapter turned out pretty funny…hope every one likes it. Again it was co-written by me and Rueh! Please R&R! Thanks!)

****

Disclaimer: FF7 and Squaresoft is not mine. Dete is. Rueh belongs to Rueh…

****

**Chapter 4**

**Party and a last minute notice**

****

"How do you get in this place? Which door should I use? Do they all open…do any of them open?" Dete asked herself after she tugged on one that didn't budge.

She looked up at the tower. "RUEH YOU GET DOWN HERE NOW AND OPEN THIS DOOR! YOU HEAR ME?! OPEN THE DOOR!" 

The door flew open and hit her and a silver haired man stalked out.

"What's all the yelling out here about?" he demanded and looked around till he saw Dete who was sitting on the ground.

"Are YOU the one yelling? What do you want?"

"…is this where Rueh lives?" she asked meekly.

"And who are you?"

"…I can't remember. You hit me with the door, remember?"

"You are most definitely Rueh's friend. Go on in," he said stepping aside.

"…where is she?"

"Beats me. But if I were you I'd check the 70th floor."

"I'm afraid of heights…"

Sephiroth laughed, shook his head…and continued out the door.

Dete sniffed. "I'm lost…where's the phone?"

She started to wonder around. "Rueh? Where are you Rueh? Come out come out wherever you…" she was cut off as she ran into something.

She looked up and up and up and into the face of a mean looking guy.

"Who are you?" he asked roughly.

"…who do I look like?" she asked in a small voice.

"You look like a rat that shouldn't be here."

"I'm looking for Rueh…"

The guards face paled a bit.

"…right this…way…"

Dete followed after him.

                                    ****

CRASH!

"LOOK OUT!"

The elevator door opened to a shower of glass shards.

Rueh laughed guiltily.

"Sorry about that Dete…who let you in?"

"Some ugly mean looking guy," Dete said.

"Besides the one behind you?"

"Yeah."

"Guess you must have run into my dad on his way out. He was afraid."

"Should I ask of what?"

Rueh looked around the destroyed room. "Do you need to?"

Dete looked around. "No."

"Good! Then strap this on!"

Rueh threw a big backpack to her that was none too light.

"…why?"

"I got a surprise for you," Rueh said as she put her own black one on.

"Why do you get the black one? I want the black one!"

"Yours is black…"

"Oh…yeah it is…"

"Put it on! Hurry up we don't have all day!"

"Do to," Dete murmured to herself as she put it on.

When she was thoroughly finished with all the tiny straps, with Rueh's help, and half hour later, they made their way to the roof.

"What are we doing up here?" Dete asked as a gust of wind hit her in the face knocking her back a few feet.

"Watch your step," Rueh warned.

Dete looked behind her and down…

She saw Midgar.

She jumped forward.

"Rueh you inconsiderate jerk! You were going to let me fall weren't ya?"

"Why not? I was going to ask you to jump anyways. What do you think you have on your back?"

Dete gaped at her before the words settled in and translated.

"You get this off my back NOW! My mom's gonna kill me!"

"Your mom's not even here." Rueh said calmly.

"But Rueh I'm afraid of heights…"

"Why are you whining? You don't ever whine at school."

"What school? If I remember right they condemned it…"

"Oh yeah that's right. But that was just yesterday…that reminds me I still have to tell dad…"

Dete shook her head. Rueh grabbed her arm and dragged her over to the other edge.

"On the count of three…"

"No! NO! Rueh let me go!" Dete cried flailing her arms trying to get away. Rueh held on easily.

"1…3!" Dete found herself hurled through the air with Rueh still latched onto her arm.

"I'm gonna kill you!" 

"Pull the rip cord! Pull the rip cord!"

"You pull the rip cord!"

"Dete we're falling do we have time to argue here?"

Dete decided not to argue any further and pulled the white rip cord that had until then served no purpose except for smacking her in the face.  She was pulled back with such force the wind was knocked out of her as the parachute erupted from her backpack.

Rueh grinned as she fell further. _'She got the green on so that means…' She pulled her own rip cord and a black parachute caught the air and lessened the fall. "Uh-oh….straying off course, STRAYING OFF COURSE!"_

Rueh sailed over the city a short ways then crashed down in the middle of one of the streets. "That was a cushy landing…now who did I land on?"

"Who do you think?"

"…daddy…is that you?  What are you doing down there?  Are you sniffing the streets again?" The parachute had fallen over her head and now covered both of them and a section of the street.

"If anyone steps on MY parachute…you're paying for dry-cleaning AND damages!" Rueh warned any passersby.

"I thought you had a friend over?" Sephiroth asked.

"I do," She answered and didn't bother to move from where she sat on him.

"Where is she?"

"I…I don't rightly know, to be honest."

"What color did she get?"

"Green, why?  Did you think I'd give her your pink one?"

"It's NOT pink!  Its fuchsia."

"Could have fooled me."  Rueh gathered up half the parachute in her arms then stood back up.  "We've drawn a crowd…nothing more to look at here…I'M going home."

"And a good thing too.  Don't forget to find you friend.  Hopefully she's just stuck in some tree somewhere and not someone's house."

"I'll make sure to have them send YOU the bill for any damages done!" Rueh called over her shoulder as she ran to find Dete. 

"Oh don't I feel so lucky…"

                                    ****

"Rueh I swear if you don't come get me out of this tree in about 5 seconds I'm gonna strangle you the next time I see you!" Dete yelled flailing her arms and legs as she hung about 5 feet from the ground in a tree.

A head popped out of a nearby bush. "Dete is that you?"

"Did you have to ask?"

"Look its Dete! What are you doing in the tree?"

"What's it look like? I'm just hanging around!"

"You know if you pull that rip cord you can get down real easy."

"But I already pulled the rip cord remember?"

"Not the red one," Rueh sang.

"What red one?"

"That one on your left side that says do not pull!"

"Well if it says don't pull don't you think I should abide by that?"

"Nah. It only means for when you're in the air."

"If you haven't noticed yet Rueh I AM in the air."

"Well it's not like you're 50 feet up or anything. Now would you just listen to me and pull it?" Dete reluctantly looked down and found the cord. She gave it a good yank. The parachute cords gave way and she fell to the ground to land on her butt.

"Ouch…my butt…"

"I landed on my dad."

"I'm glad I landed in the tree then. I'd be afraid to land on him. Probably get up and kill me or something."

"He would not because then I'd kill him."

"I don't know," Dete said wearily.

"What do you mean you don't know? You don't think I could beat him up?"

"He looks pretty strong to me."

"Sure. He's just a big wuss…"

Dete covered her mouth and shook her head. She backed up slowly with wide eyes.

"What's wrong with you? What is it Dete?" With her other hand Dete pointed at Rueh. Rueh looked confused then slowly turned around…

"Ahaaaaa…hi ya dad…we were just talking about you."

"So I heard," Sephiroth said dully.

"Let's go get lunch! Can't think on an empty stomach!" Rueh grabbed Dete's arm and ran in the opposite direction.

"What's there to think about?" Sephiroth asked watching the retreating forms.

                                    ****

"Hey Rueh?" Dete asked.

"Yeah?" Rueh asked and took another bite of her chocolate bar.

"Don't forget to tell you dad about the…school."

"…oh yeah…I almost forgot about that…again!"

"What about the school?"  Rueh and Dete yelled and jumped in surprise.

"You made me drop my chocolate!" Rueh growled at Sephiroth.

"So?"

"So it was the last piece I had!"

"Go buy some more," he said with a shrug.

"Give me some money then."

"No."

"Why is he always around? Is he stalking us or something?" Dete asked.

"No he's just like that," Rueh said.

"Now what about the school?" Sephiroth asked.

"I don't know. Why don't you go and find out? I go there everyday. Why don't you just hire me a tutor? Chances are I might learn something for once." Rueh said.

"Aaaa…no. You can go to school where it's free."

"Cheapskate."

He shrugged. "Now. Tell me what happened to the school or you're grounded."

"To what?"

"I have to go home now Rueh!" Dete said backing away.

"You stay right there! I'll handle this," Rueh said.

"Handle this! You're grounded to your room for the rest of the week!" 

Rueh looked at her watch. "Hmm…only…11 hours left."

"Quit being a smart-aleck Rueh."

"Why? It's fun. And it's not like it would make a difference if I was grounded to my room anyway. I've got everything I need in there…except food."

"I could do that."

"Could not! Then that would be child abuse!"

"Would not!"

"Would to! What do you plan to do? Starve me to death?"

"You're not starving!"

"How do you know? My food's on the ground and that's all I've had all day! Now what were we arguing about?"

Sephiroth threw his hands up in defeat. "Your school. What happened to it?"

"Aaaa…oh yeah Dete you have that…that…THING! To do now…come on let's go!"

_'She's avoiding that question…'_ Sephiroth thought.

                                    ****

-Rueh's house-

"FINALLY! He's gone!"

"Your dad's kind of scary Rueh," Dete said.

"Tell me about it! He's always like that!"

"Like what?"

"See! I can hear his voice right now saying…oh…hi ya daddy…again…RUN!" Rueh and Dete took off running.

"What was that all about? I only came home…I LIVE HERE TOO YOU KNOW RUEH!"

"No I don't know!" a distant voice called.

"That little brat!" Sephiroth took off down the hall after them.

"Rueh I think he's chasing us!" Dete said.

"Let him chase us…I've got a little surprise for him…"

"I don't like the sound of that…"

"Quick! In here!" Rueh yanked Dete into a nearby room.

"…"

"…"

"What…is this-?"

"So this is where my dad keeps all his…stuff…he's always hiding it from me."

"Gee…I wonder why?"

"Oooooo…look! He's got a collection of fire ants…I don't have mine anymore so we can use his!" Rueh carefully opened the slit at the bottom and let all the sand run out. "Go! My little warriors! Be brave and attack!"

"Rueh you're terrible!"

"Aren't I?" she asked with a dreamy look on her face. "Now what else is…oooooooooooooo…look at this!"

"What is THAT?"

"…I don't know. But it's pretty!" They suddenly heard a yell from outside the door. "My little warriors are hard at work!" Rueh laughed evilly.

"Don't you think we better go now?" Dete asked.

"Oh fine…but let's take this with us!" Rueh grabbed the black bag and they ran past Sephiroth and down the hall and went up in the elevator to the next floor. Rueh was sure to leave a note so her dad could follow her…right into her trap…the one she was planning at the least…

"Rueh where are we going now?" Dete asked.

"I keep my monsters on this floor!" Rueh said enthusiastically.

"…monsters…?" Dete's voice lacked the enthusiasm.

"Weeeellllll…they're only small monsters…my very own. You'll never see any other like them."

"I don't doubt that."

Rueh pulled her into another room. Inside there was a metal door blocking the way that needed a series of codes to open the way. It only took Rueh moments to infiltrate the door and swung it wide open.  "My monsters…*sniff*…they're gone…*sniff*…"

"Were those the ones in the vending machines at school?"

"Oh yeah!" Rueh brightened up. "They should be coming home any minute now!" Down the hall…they heard the sounds of a stampede and a yell.

"Poor daddy…next floor! Going up!"

Rueh pulled Dete into the elevator again.

                                    ****

-6 hours later-

Truce has been made. Everyone ate dinner in peace then went their separate ways for bed.

-2 hours later-

"Pssst…hey Dete!"

"…what Rueh…?"

"I've got an idea! Come with me!"

-45 minutes later-

"Rueh are you sure about this? I feel kinda funny. What's all this stuff for?"

"You'll see."

They started up the stairs.

-15 minutes later-

"Man Dete you really need to exercise more often."

"What are we doing on the roof…again?"

"We're going down."

"Down?"

"Yes down. Here secure these ropes to those."

"Why…?"

-10 minutes later-

"Done!"

"Good! Now hook the rope to your harness. We're going down head first."

"What?"

"Yep!"

They started their descent down the building head first…like a spy.

-2 minutes later-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"What was that all about?" 

"*sniff*…I slipped…and there was a bug on the rope…"

"What kind of bug?"

"A big bug."

"You didn't hurt it did ya?"

"…"

"…"

"More worried about a bug than me," Dete grumbled.

"Come on let's keep going down."

-7 minutes later-

"Hey look in here!"

Dete looked into the dark room. "Isn't that your dad?"

"Yes siry! Now I don't like that little truce we made so…it wore off after dinner and we went to bed. We went to bed after dinner so the truce is done."

"Is he sleeping on a couch?"

Rueh looked harder into the room. "Yes I believe he is. He has a habit of doing that you know. He broke the last one you know."

"He did?"

"Yeah. He's so fat you wouldn't believe it."

"You know what Rueh? Staying the night at your house…I've never been in trouble in my whole life…except for yesterday but that's beside the point…this makes up for everything I didn't do as a little kid!"

"Good for you Dete, you should come over more often then."

"You know…"  Dete watched as Rueh carefully glued a suction cup to the window.  "My mom would KILL me if she saw half the things I've done today."

Rueh began cutting a big circle around the suction cup in the window. When the circle was finally cut into the window she pulled the bit of glass away and handed to Dete to hold while she dove through the new entrance.

Rueh landed silently and took the rope off then went back to the hole to take the glass from Dete then helped her in.  She replaced the glass…for the time being…then looked over the dark room.

"Now what?" Dete asked and followed Rueh deeper into the room.  

"My dad is dead set on the fact that he DOESN'T snore…we're going to prove him wrong," Rueh whispered.

Dete cringed when a loud noise sounded from the direction of the couch.  "Man, you could almost mistake that for an earth quake."

"I know…take you bag off."  Dete did as Rueh said, then opened the bag to see just WHAT Rueh had packed.

"What is this stuff?"

"Sensors…microphones…cameras…surveillance…oh, and not to forget the ever popular tracking devices."

-3 hours later-

"All done…now just to wait for the morning…"

"…are you SURE your dad won't notice that tracking collar around his neck…ankles…and hanging on the ends of his hair?"

"Oh, I have no doubt that he'll find SOME of the more obvious ones, but then we have to let him know we were here."  Rueh shrugged as she hooked the rope back to her harness.  "Going down?"

"Down?"  

"Yeah, I don't want to climb back up, do you?"

"I guess not…"  
            -15 minutes later-

"Ha! He forgot to lock the front door…again!" Rueh said as she and Dete entered the building.

Dete just yawned. "Can I go to bed now?" she asked.

"What time is it?" Rueh asked.

"It's 1:30 in the morning," Dete said dully.

"And you're tired? Gosh, I'm not," Rueh said with a shrug.

Dete gave her a dull look. "I'M going to bed. See you in the morning." She went to the elevator and pushed a button.

"No…Wait for me!" Rueh said and ran for the doors before they closed.

"Why?" Dete asked stopping the doors from closing.

"I don't want to walk up the stairs…"

                                    ****

-Next morning or the time when Rueh FINALLY woke up-

Sephiroth cleared his throat. Rueh and Dete stopped dead in their tracks and slowly turned to face him. For a few minutes he just watched them not saying anything. Rueh raised an eyebrow. "What happened to the school?" he finally asked.

Rueh and Dete looked at each other and laughed nervously. "Weeellll…I didn't do it!" Rueh said.

"Uh-huh…go on," Sephiroth said and picked up a notebook and pen from the table in front of his chair.

"You see there was this gust of wind spell...all the windows are gone now because of the pressure build up but not to mention that the principal hasn't been seen since. Oh! Here's a note from him anyways," Rueh said handing the piece of paper to him.

He looked over it, nodded, set it aside, and continued to write in the notebook. "Go on."


	5. chapter 5

(Author's Note: Well now…this chapter is funny I think…I wonder what that note was about…? Hehehe…this chapter was also co-written by me and Rueh…)

****

Disclaimer: FF7 and Squaresoft are not mine. Dete is. Rueh belongs to Rueh…

****

****

****

****

**Chapter 5**

**Rueh's list**

"The main hall…I didn't put the snap mouse traps all over the floor…" Sephiroth kept writing as Rueh spoke. Dete stood there with a nervous look. "The main lobby…I didn't put sticky mouse traps and fly paper everywhere!" Sephiroth nodded but didn't say anything. He just kept writing.****

"Aaaaa…the gym! I didn't put thumbtacks on the floor or the gulf balls, fresh wax, and hot wheels cars…Oh! And the guy in the gym room who asked me to spot for him, well, he didn't ask me…" Rueh looked thoughtful. "The English room…I did NOT release those frogs and crickets!"  Sephiroth merely gave a small frown, nodded again, and kept writing.

"Oh! The plumbing! I didn't release the Midgar Zolom in it! And I didn't put Mu's in the toilets! I also didn't put rubber cement in the art teacher's hair…" Dete shot her a look. "Okay okay so maybe I did but he told me to! And he told me to put the super, super glue in the principal's chair!" Rueh said. Sephiroth gave her the strangest look and shook his head. He went back to writing.

"Don't forget the lab," Dete said. 

Rueh looked at her confused. "Oh yeah! I didn't cause the accidental lab explosion! Or the accidental real fire drill. All the sprinklers went off," she said with the same confused look.

"Keep going," Sephiroth said still writing in the notebook.

"I never messed up the teacher's notes! I didn't overload a computer and cause electrical problems…or computer problems for that matter," Rueh looked to be deep in thought. She looked at Dete. "Anything else?"

"Umm…yes actually there is…" Dete said.

"Okay then what?"

"The cook…"

"Oh yeah! I didn't lock the cook in the abnormally cold freezer! Just like I didn't do the never ending flow of slinkys down the stairs!" Rueh nodded her head. "Oh! I don't know how that bully got on the flag pole. I guess he knows how to fly." She shrugged. Sephiroth looked grim as he kept writing and Rueh kept talking. 

"I don't know who planted the hidden balloons filled with runny silly putty. I think the school has a bug problem too. Spiders kept falling from the ceiling. Real ones at that. Oh and don't drink the water…I heard that there was piranhas in the fresh water supply. There's no toilet paper either. It's all over the school…except for in the bathrooms. I don't know who did that," she said. Sephiroth rolled his eyes and turned the page in the notebook.

"Oh don't get hungry…there were baby monsters in the vending machines. I think they followed me home. Oh…don't get thirsty either. There's sewage water in the soda machine the last I heard," Rueh said.

"Is there anything else?" Sephiroth asked. They had moved into the elevator and were heading to the 1st floor.

"Umm…in math…I didn't tar and feather the teacher!" 

Sephiroth raised an eye brow and looked at her. "Go on," he said still writing.

"The last thing…things that happened…when the fire sprinklers went off piranhas rained down…as well as purple hair dye. Oh! And there was a herd of BIG monsters set loose by someone and they were chasing your chocobo in the halls. Who could have gotten your chocobo? But then the cops condemned the school," Rueh said with a thoughtful look.

Sephiroth stopped writing. "My…MY chocobo? WHERE IS IT?" he said dropping the notebook and pen. They walked outside of the building.

"Is that it?" Dete asked pointing. Sephiroth and Rueh looked to where she was pointing.

"My…my…my…MY CHOCOBO!" Sephiroth cried and ran to it. It had its head slumped and was…well…bald. Except for a few feathers here and there. It gave a weak 'wark.' Sephiroth looked like he might cry.

"Oh don't worry. She was running fast enough that the monsters couldn't get her. I wonder what happened to the chocobo I jumped a guy for?" Rueh said.

"Hey Rueh…I'm going home now," Dete said slowly walking away.

"Alright. See you sometime. Oh DAD! And you tell me to act my age!" Rueh said turning her attention back to Sephiroth.

"Rueh…this chocobo is a guy," he said.

"No it's a girl," she said.

"I'm pretty sure that this is a guy…"

"No! It's a girl!"

"The last time I looked he wasn't."

-1/2 second later-

"GROSS!" Rueh turned her back on him. "That's just wrong!" she said looking like she would be sick.

"My poor chocobo…"

                                    ****

When Dete entered her home Aeris was sitting at the kitchen table with her arm around a man's shoulders. He had blonde hair that was sticking up everywhere…and he was crying like a little kid.

"…and then…and then…"

"And then what happened Cloud?" Aeris asked gently.

"MY CHOCOBO WAS STOLEN!" at that he burst into fresh tears.

"There there. It'll be okay," Aeris said. She looked up and saw Dete heading for the stairs. "We need to talk young lady. I got a note from the principal about a few things that happened. He has requested a parent/principal conference."

"You look busy now so we'll talk later!" Dete said.

 "No! We're going to talk now!" Aeris said but was distracted as Cloud burst into new tears.

Dete ran back out the door.

                                    ****

"*sniff*…poor chocobo…wait…there's…but…RUEH!" 

"Yes dad?" she asked sweetly.

"If this is my chocobo then why is there one in its stall?" Sephiroth asked.

"Wha…oh! The one in the stall is yours! That one's not!" Rueh said suddenly remembering the guy she had jumped to take his chocobo.

"Then get this thing away from me!" Sephiroth said pushing the bald chocobo away.

Just then Dete ran up to them. 

"I need that!" she said and turned to run back the way she had come with the chocobo in tow. Rueh and Sephiroth shrugged and went inside.

                                    ****

Dete ran back home.

"I found a chocobo!" she said grabbing Cloud's arm and dragging him to the door.

His face brightened. "Where is it? Where is it? Where…MY CHOCOBO!" He ran to it and threw his arms around its neck.

Dete slammed the door to the house closed and locked it. She sighed in relief and turned to see Aeris in front of her.

"Hi ya mom…"

"So what is this note about?" Aeris asked her hands on her hips.

"It's not my fault! I tried to talk her out of it but she wouldn't listen! And I only stood under her umbrella to avoid getting drops of purple hair dye on myself!" Dete said. She glanced out the window. "Oh…my…gosh…"

"What is it?" Aeris asked. She looked out the window and paled.

Dete spun, grabbed the phone, and raced up the stairs to her room. She dialed the number. It rang 3 times then was answered.

"HeyRuehguesswhat?RememberthatchocobowellIgaveitbacktotheguyyoutookitfromandnowhe'soutsidewithitnaked!Bye!" she said all this in one breath and hung up not waiting for a reply.

                                    ****

Sephiroth hung up the phone and turned to Rueh. "I think that was your friend."

"What'd she say?" Rueh asked.

"'HeyRuehguesswhat?RememberthatchocobowellIgaveitbacktotheguyyoutookitfromandnowhe'soutsidewithitnaked!Bye!'"

Rueh nodded with a look of understanding on her face and walked away.

"We need to talk." She stopped and slowly turned back to Sephiroth.

"Really? Do we have to?"

                                    ****

"Who was that you were talking to?" Aeris asked standing in the doorway to Dete's room.

"My friend," Dete said.

"No. Her name."

"Rueh…"

"Rueh? Sephiroth's daughter?"

"Yeah…mom? Are you okay?" Dete asked with a worried look. Aeris had the strangest look on her face as she walked away.

                                    ****

(Author's Note: This is what Dete said on the phone…  

Hey Rueh guess what? Remember that chocobo well I gave it back to the guy you took it from and now he's outside with it naked! Bye!)


	6. chapter 6

(Author's Note: Hello! It's been awhile since I updated this story and I'm sorry for the wait but here is the next chapter and it turned out to be around 5 pages long but it's worth it. Things are starting to become clear now though…enjoy!)

Disclaimer: FF7 and Squaresoft are not mine. Rueh belongs to Rueh. Zendric, Dete, Sandy, and the new character's name belongs to me…see if you can guess who he is…

****

**Chapter 6**

**The meetings…**

The assistant principal sat in a leather chair behind the desk. The principal of the school hadn't been seen since the…"attack." The door to the office opened and the one who had caused most all the trouble…(Rueh: It wasn't me! I swear!)…came in with her father a step behind. The assistant got a little nervous. Rueh was Sephiroth's daughter and he was afraid of making both mad at the same time…which at this moment was quite possible considering the bored expression on Sephiroth's face. 

"Please have a seat," he said motioning to the 4 chairs in front of the desk. Silently Sephiroth sat down in the chair to the far left. After a small hesitation Rueh reluctantly sat in the chair next to his. "Well. You know why you are here I suppose…"

"Get to the point," Sephiroth cut in sounding very, very bored and still with the bored expression. 

"Yes well…of course. It seems that your daughter and another girl have caused a lot of trouble in this building and the staff, myself included, think that it's time to take action to…calm her down…"

"What's your name?" Sephiroth cut in again.

"Call me Zendric," he said.

"Well Zendric. I have noticed that this isn't the first time things like this have happened and they seem to concern my daughter. If I am correct and they did happen…why didn't you and the staff take action to stop her then?" Sephiroth asked.

Zendric was about to answer when the door to the room opened again. Dete walked in with her mother behind her. He motioned from them both to take a seat but Aeris stopped dead in her tracks.

"YOU!"

Sephiroth slowly turned to face whoever was speaking with a raised eyebrow. "Hello Aeris. It's been awhile," he said his expression calm.

"I wasn't told that _he would be here!" Aeris said rounding on Zendric._

"Well he should be here after all your daughter and his were the ones that caused all this trouble," Zendric said.

"Get him out! I will not be in the same room as him!" Aeris snapped glaring at Sephiroth. Sephiroth just merely shrugged.

"I'm sorry but both of you are needed to have this meeting about your children…" Zendric said.

"OUR CHILDREN! Who in their right mind would…?"

"If I may recall Aeris…" Sephiroth started but was interrupted by Rueh.

"Hey dad you know her?" she asked.

Aeris paled as a smirk slowly spread across his face. "As a matter of fact Rueh I do know Dete's mother," he said just watching the expressions on Aeris's face.

"Do you know him mom?" Dete asked looking from one to another.

"Yes. I know him. Though I wish I didn't," Aeris hissed angrily.

"Why Aeris I'm hurt," Sephiroth said with a mocking tone and put one hand on his chest over his heart.

"Good," she said.

"How do you know each other?" Rueh asked looking just as confused as Dete.

"We met some time ago. But why don't you tell them Aeris," Sephiroth said.

"Tell us what?" Dete asked.

"It's nothing," Aeris said glaring at Sephiroth.

"Oh I think it's more than that. Maybe _I_ should tell them," he said.

"Don't you dare!"

"Tell us what?" Rueh asked.

"You stay out of this!" Aeris snapped at her.

"_YOU can't tell me what to do!"_

"I most certainly can!"

Rueh looked at Dete who shook her head. They looked back at Sephiroth and Aeris. Zendric just…stood on the sidelines watching the argument. 

"What gives you the right to yell at me?" Rueh asked.

"Why Aeris that's an excellent question for you to answer. Tell _them_," Sephiroth said with a smirk.

"They don't need to know! That's in the past!" Aeris said turning to him.

"Oh really? You seemed to have brought the subject up so why don't we talk about it?"

"NO! There is no reason to!" Aeris practically screamed at him.

He crossed his arms over his chest. The smirk was still on his face. "I think there is," he said calmly.

"Then YOU tell them!"

"It's not MY place to tell them the…truth."

"What truth?" Rueh and Dete asked in unison but weren't answered.

"Well I'm not!" Aeris snapped.

"Why not? After all…"

"Shut up!"

Sephiroth's shoulders shook slightly from his silent laughter. He was having fun tormenting Aeris like this. "But Aeris…"

"NO BUTS! Dete we're leaving! WE can have this meeting some other time!" Aeris said and started to storm from the room.

"You can't leave!" Zendric spoke up finally.

Aeris whirled around and narrowed her eyes dangerously. "And why not?"

"…because this is the only time we can have a meeting until the next school year…"

Aeris was silent for a few minutes with an angry look on her face. Sephiroth just watched her with an amused look on his face. "Then there won't be a meeting," she said and spun to head for the door again.

"But your daughter's behavior…" Zendric said and instantly regretted it.

Aeris spun around yet again. "MY DAUGTERS?!"

Rueh and Dete looked at each other as if assessing the other at Aeris's strange reaction to his words. Why had she gotten mad at that…unless she had misunderstood? But why was she getting so upset especially with Sephiroth? 

"I meant your daughter and Sephiroth's daughter! I didn't mean it like they were both of yours…" he fell silent at the look on her face.

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "Come on now Aeris. It's only their right to know the truth. After 16 years and all…"

"Shut up!" she snapped angrily.

Rueh and Dete got thoughtful looks on their faces. Could it be…maybe this is why Aeris was getting upset…had something gone wrong and that had led to what was happening now…?

"Aeris. They should be told the truth," Sephiroth said his voice getting a serious tone to it.

"They don't need to know! There's nothing wrong with them now as it is! Dete we're leaving!" Aeris said and turned to the door AGAIN!

"But…first tell us why you're acting like this," Dete said looking at Rueh as a plan formed in their minds.

"NOW!" Aeris yelled.

Dete shrugged and followed after her with a glance back over her shoulder at Sephiroth and Rueh. That had to be it…

                                    ****

-Later-

The phone was answered on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey Rueh it's me. What do you think is going on?" Dete asked quietly so she wouldn't be overheard by Aeris if she passed the door.

"I don't know…something's up though. I think it's time we did some digging," Rueh said.

"Mom's got some old photo books in the attic…think you could sneak over tonight?"

"No problem. What time?"

"Sometime after mid-night that's for sure. We'll have to watch for my mom…"

"A sleep spell could take care of that."

"…it could…but Rueh…oh fine. We'll do that," Dete sighed.

"All right. I'll do the spell when I get there then we'll go look around the attic," Rueh said.

"Sounds good. See you later," Dete said.

They both hung up the phones and looked around for something to keep them busy till mid-night came.

                                    ****

-Five minutes after mid-night-

"She's asleep now. That spell will wear after around 7 or so in the morning," Rueh said.

"That's plenty of time. This way," Dete said and started up the second flight of stairs that led to the attic. They entered a room full of boxes and stuff that was being stored away for the time. 

"You start over there with those boxes. I'll star over here," Dete said. Rueh nodded and started to go through boxes. They went through every box but one and still hadn't found anything.

"I'll bet you it's this one," Rueh said.

"I'm not going to bet because you're probably right," Dete said. They started to go through the boxes.

"Hey! Look at this!" Rueh said and held up one of the books that were in the bottom of the box.

"Open it! Let's see!" Dete said and moved to look over Rueh's shoulder. Rueh opened the book. "That's…your dad…and my mom…at a wedding?" Dete said with a confused look.

"We thought that there was something going on between them right? Well this explains it! Look at the next one!" Rueh said.

"Here they are together though. Hey…that's me…and you!" 

"As babies! Dete we're…"

"Sisters…" both finished the sentence.

"But…what happened to mom and…dad? That doesn't sound right just yet but hey…why did they fight today?" Dete continued.

"Yesterday actually but I don't know…maybe we should get them back together again?" Rueh said with a thoughtful look.

"And just how are we going to do that?" Dete asked dully. "You saw how mom acted towards him."

"Oh…we'll think of something…"

"Well. We found what we wanted. Now we can't let them know that we know something about them," Dete said.

"Yeah. I better go now," Rueh said.

"Good idea," Dete said as they stood.

"We'll come up with a plan next time we see each other," Rueh said.

"Which will be later today no doubt."

"Hehe…see ya!"

                                    ****

-1 week later-

"Finally! I thought she would never let me out of her sight!" Dete said.

"Ditto. She's been keeping a close eye on you but you got to take Sandy for a walk sometimes. So. Have any ideas for what we could do?" Rueh asked.

Dete sat down on the bench in the park and scratched the top of her dog's head. "…no. You?"

Rueh shook her head and sat down next to her. They sat in silence for awhile. A man walked up to them. He had long black hair and wore glasses in front of his black eyes. He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and had a white coat on over his shirt.

"You 2 look like you could use some help," he said.

"Oh we're just trying to figure out how to get our parents together again," Rueh said cringing inwardly at the state of his hair.

"And who are your parents?" he asked.

"Who are you?" Dete asked.

"I'm…Taven," he said.

"Taven? Okay. Well…my mom's name is Aeris," Dete said.

"And my dad is Sephiroth. We don't know what happened but something caused them to get mad at each other and brake up thus separating us," Rueh said.

"Twins?" Taven asked.

"Yeah…I guess. Not identical though," Dete said thinking about Rueh's…troublesome streak.

"Maybe I can help you," Taven said.

"Really?" both said.

"Sure. Here how about this. In 2 days leave a note for your parents that is _not _in your handing writing stating that you were kidnapped and taken to Nibelheim. I'll meet you there at the old Shinra mansion and we'll go from there," he said.

"…okay. My mom will definitely do something…" Dete said.

"I don't know about my dad since he knows I can handle myself," Rueh said.

"You leave that to me," he said.

"All right. Deal," Dete said.

"Good. I'll meet you there in 2 days," he said and walked away.

"Well. We've got a note to write and a few things to pack so see you in 2 days," Rueh said walking back to the Shinra building.

"Yeah. See you then," Dete said starting the walk back to her house.

                                    ****


	7. chapter 7

(Author's Note: Hello… here's chapter 7! Not much to say here except to enjoy it!)

****

Disclaimer: FF7 and Squaresoft are not mine. Rueh belongs to Rueh. Dete and Taven's name and Tronel are mine.

****

**Chapter 7**

**Missing…**

****

-2 days later-

Aeris walked into the house after closing down her shop for the day. She heard music. She set her basket of flowers and seeds on the table and looked up the stairs where the music was coming from. She sighed and went about fixing dinner. After the food was ready she went up the stairs to get Dete.

The door to her room was half closed and the light was on. Aeris pushed the door all the way open. Dete wasn't there but the music was on and the room was just like she had seen it that morning…well…the window hadn't been open.

She grumbled to herself and went back downstairs and dialed a number on the phone. It was answered on the first ring.

"Hello?"

"Where is she?"

"Wha…well hello Aeris. I'm surprised that you'd be calling. Usually it's Dete calling Rueh, not you calling me," Sephiroth said as he sat down in a chair to make himself comfortable.

"I don't care! Where is she?" Aeris snapped.

"Who?"

"Dete!"

"What do you mean? Isn't she there?"

"Gah! You're not helping!"

"Aeris I…" Sephiroth held the phone away from his ear. "Whatever. Hang up on me. See if I care," he said slamming the phone down as well. "RUEH!" he waited but didn't get an answer. He went through the entire building but still didn't find her. He was back by the phone again when he noticed a note written sloppily by someone he probably didn't know: 

_I've got her in Nibelheim. It'll cost ya to get her back._

He shrugged and shook his head. Rueh could take care of herself if she was in trouble.

                                    ****

Aeris looked at the notepad beside the phone and hung up while Sephiroth was in mid-sentence. A note was written there but not in Dete's handwriting. Aeris's hands shook as she read it:

_She's in Nibelheim. Come and get her or something might happen._

Within 5 minutes Aeris had her Princess Guard equipped with her best materia and was mounting her chocobo. Her destination was Nibelheim.

                                    ****

"Well. We'll know if it worked when they get here," Dete said.

"Yeah. Let's explore this old place shall we?" Rueh asked looking around the room.

"Sure," Dete said with a shrug.

The 2 of them began to explore the room that Taven had led them to but they hadn't seen him since then. Once that was done they left that room and found stairs to the next floor. They went up. They went to the right and down the hall to a room with one bed.

"Hey lookie here," Rueh said walking over to the far wall.

"I don't see anything. It's just a wall," Dete said walking over to her.

"You're not looking close enough. See? There's a switch here…"

"Pull it."

Rueh pulled the switch and a secret door was revealed. An old stair case spiraled downwards into the damp basement.

"Shall we?" Rueh asked.

Dete looked down and swallowed not liking the state of the stairs. "Why not?" She followed Rueh down the stairs. There was only one hall when they reached the bottom.

"Not much here," Rueh said.

"Nothing except that light at the end of the tunnel," Dete said tilting her head to the side a bit. "Where have I heard that before?"

 Rueh shrugged. "Beats me. Come on!" 

They walked past a side door and entered a room full of…

"Oooooo…this looks like a science lab!" Rueh said looking every direction at once practically.

"It sure does…hey…so this is where you went Taven. What are you doing down here?" Dete asked.

"What?" Taven spun around to face them. "How did you get down here?"

"The stairs," Rueh said.

"Oh…"

"So…what is this place?" Dete asked.

"My lab," he said.

"You're a scientist?" Rueh asked.

"Yes."  

"Oh…well we'll just leave you alone so you can work on whatever your experiment is," Dete said backing towards the door.

"All right," he said. 

Rueh and Dete walked from the room at a fast pace.

"…he's freaky."

"I'll say," Rueh said with a glance over her shoulder.

"So what are we going to do now?" Dete asked when they reached the foot of the stairs.

Rueh yawned. "Don't know. What about you?"

Dete yawned as well. "Well…a nap sounds pretty good right now."

"Yeah it does. Wonder why though? We haven't done a lot yet," Rueh said.

"That's right…oh well…I think I'll just sit down and take my nap now," Dete said with another yawn and sitting down.

Rueh sat down too. "…sleepy…where's my bed…?"

Within seconds both girls were asleep. Taven walked up to them with a mask over his face to keep the sleeping gas from affecting him. He smirked. _'Soon…'_

                                    ****

It was completely dark out when Aeris reached Nibelheim. She looked around the quiet town but didn't see any sign of Dete. One house caught her attention. She dismounted and led her chocobo to the front door and knocked.

"Coming!" a voice called. A few seconds later the door opened.

"Hi," Aeris said nervously.

"Aeris! Come in! Hey Tifa! Aeris is here!" Cloud said stepping aside to let her in.

"My chocobo…" she mumbled.

"I'll take care of it," he said and led the chocobo to the shed next to the house.

Tifa came around the corner. "Aeris! How are you?" she said hugging her.

Aeris returned the hug. "I'm fine. I hope this isn't a bad time?"

"Oh no! Not at all! Hungry?" Tifa asked. Aeris nodded.

"This way," Tifa led her to the kitchen. They talked for awhile then Cloud joined them.

"Let's go into the living room and talk," he said. "So what brings you here?"

 Aeris took a breath. "There was a note by the phone. Dete was kidnapped."

"What? What did the note say?" Tifa asked.

"It said to come and get her or something might happen," Aeris said.

"To go where and get her?" Cloud asked.

"Nibelheim." 

Silence descended upon the room. Cloud sat back and crossed his arms. Tifa looked at him.

"We haven't seen anything that would be suspicious around here lately," she said slowly.

Aeris bowed her head. Cloud looked at her.

"Don't worry Aeris. We can look around town tomorrow. And after leaving you like he did if Sephiroth has anything to do with this…"

Aeris's head snapped up to look at him. "He doesn't because I called him asking him about it before I left," she said.

 "What about Rueh?" Tifa asked.

"Her? I have no clue. She lives with him," Aeris said remembering the list of things that Rueh claimed to have not done at the school.

"Well we'll keep an eye out for both of them. We'll start in the morning," Cloud said standing.

"Come on Aeris. I'll get you some blankets and you can sleep in the spare bedroom tonight," Tifa said.

Aeris followed her down the hall. "So where's Tronel?" 

"Over at a friends house tonight. Who knows what that boy is doing," Tifa said rolling her eyes and shaking her head. 

                                    ****

(Author's Note: Now…hehehehehe…anyone know who Taven really is?)


	8. chapter 8

(Author's Note: Hello! Oh boy…I think I'm very evil now…oh yes indeed…just read this and you'll understand…enjoy chapter 8!)

****

Disclaimer: FF7 and Squaresoft are not mine. Rueh belongs to Rueh…Dete is mine.

****

****

**Chapter 8**

**Discovered…but trapped…**

****

Aeris, Cloud, and Tifa decided to spread out and each search a section of the town. After not finding anything Cloud went up the mountain path thinking that they might be up there. Before he left they went back to the house to have a quick lunch since it was late in the afternoon now. 

"Everything will be fine Aeris," Tifa said once Cloud was gone.

"I know but…I'm just going to look around some more," Aeris said.

"All right. Here. Take my PHS. You can use it to call here if you need help. Cloud has his. I need to stay here in case he calls for help. If he does then I can call you," Tifa said handing the PHS to her.

"All right. What time will you be starting dinner? Call me and I'll come back and help," Aeris said.

"Oh don't worry about that," Tifa said.

Aeris shrugged and left the house. She just stood in the front yard looking around the town. She was trying to think of a place that they hadn't looked when the old building caught her eye. The Shinra mansion. She looked around again then started towards it.

                                    ****

Sephiroth growled in frustration and pushed his hair over his shoulder. Even after a thorough search of the Shinra tower Rueh still hadn't turned up. He remembered the note but she should have already been back. He plopped down in his favorite chair. After a few minutes the phone rang. After the 3rd ring he finally gave up and answered it.

"What?"

"Sephiroth…it's me…"

"What do you want Aeris?" he snapped.

"I found Rueh and Dete…"

"Well good for you. I'll just let you get them back," he said not really caring.

"I was calling because I'll need help…Sephiroth," she said.

"…why should I help?"

"Knock it off! I really need your help! They need your help!"

"I might help them but then again I might not because they didn't ask," he said.

"I'm in the basement of the Shinra mansion in Nibelheim…I can't get them out of here alone," she said.

"Why don't you ask what's his face…chocobo head and his wife Tifa for help?"

"Seph…" he held the phone away from his ear when there was a bunch of noise from the other end. Something went thud and the phone hit something.

"Aeris?" he asked. Someone picked up the phone but didn't say anything. "Aeris what happened? I don't really care though…"

Soft laughter answered him.

"Who is this?" he demanded.

"It's been awhile Sephiroth…" the line suddenly went dead.

Sephiroth hung up and shook his head. Let Aeris deal with her own problems. It wasn't any concern of his. Not after what she did…he shook his head.

So she had found Rueh and Dete at the Shinra mansion. Big deal. And there was another man there as well…wait. Sephiroth froze as the voice suddenly clicked with a face that floated through his memories…

He stood up and left the room. His pace fast enough that his hair and trench coat fluttered in the breeze left behind.

_'Now what did Rueh do to my sword and materia…oh boy…I haven't seen them since Dete last came over. This could take awhile since I didn't look for them during my search for Rueh…'_

                                    ****

"Aeris hasn't come back yet?" Cloud asked.

Tifa shook her head. "She left just a few minutes after you did," she said.

"I don't like this. She should have been back…wait…you don't think she could have found them…"

"And been caught herself…?"

The front door suddenly opened. Cloud and Tifa stood and went to see who had come in.

"You!" Cloud hissed.

"Shut up. Where's Aeris?" Sephiroth asked.

"We don't know," Tifa said putting her hand on Cloud's arm.

"And why should you care after what you did to her!" Cloud said.

"ME? I didn't do anything to HER! She broke her promise to ME!" Sephiroth snapped.

"Maybe it's a good thing she did!"

"Why YOU…!"

"What are you going to do to me?"

"…I could do a lot of things to you. Most of which will be very very painful at this moment," Sephiroth said in a low voice.

"Stop it! Both of you! We need to find Aeris!" Tifa said.

"Neither of you are going to help me in any way!" Sephiroth hissed and left the house slamming the door behind him.

"Why would we want to help him anyways…" Cloud trailed off muttering under his breath.

                                    ****

Sephiroth didn't try to be silent as he stormed down the stairs and into the basement of the Shinra mansion. He threw the door to the lab open.  Hojo turned to face him calmly. 

A small gasp turned his attention to Aeris who was tied up in a cell with a glass wall in the front.

A green glow turned his attention to 2 metal cylinders. They were filled with mako. Rueh and Dete were floating inside of them. Their eyes were closed.

Sephiroth turned back to Hojo as his hand went to the hilt of Masamune…

                                    ****

(A/N: Yes yes…very evil…hehehehe…)


	9. chapter 9

(Author's Note: Well. One more chapter ought to be it…after this one…oh well…enjoy chapter 9!)

****

Disclaimer: FF7 and Squaresoft are not mine. Rueh is not mine…she belongs to Rueh…Dete belongs to me…

****

****

**Chapter 9**

**Alls Well That Ends Well…Right?******

****

"Welcome my son," Hojo said with a mocking tone.

"Why are you still alive? And don't call me that! You have no right," Sephiroth hissed.

Hojo laughed softly. "You and that failure aren't the only ones with Jenova's cells," he said.

"You experimented on yourself…that's sick," Sephiroth shook his head and made a face.

"But what are you going to do now? I have the 3 most important things to you locked up…"

"HA! All I'd have to do was wake Rueh up and she could get out of there herself! As for Aeris and Dete…" Sephiroth shrugged. "I'm sure they can help themselves."

Hojo looked taken aback. "I knew there was a problem between you and Aeris from talking to Rueh and Dete but I never thought it would turn out like this!"

"You've always had a problem with underestimating me," Sephiroth said in a lazy tone and cast a reviving spell. Slowly Rueh's eyes opened. "Well. Now that's she's awake I'll be going. Rueh when you're done here come back to Midgar," he waved his hand at her as he walked towards the door.

The glass shattered and Rueh was free. She got an evil smile and slowly began to advance on Hojo.

"No…calm down…no…stay away…NO!" Hojo ran but Rueh gave chase laughing evilly.

Sephiroth stopped at the door.

"Don't leave…please help us," Aeris's voice called to him.

"Why should I?" he asked darkly as he turned to face her. "After everything that's happened why should I care?"

"Please Sephiroth…maybe if you hadn't left, we could have talked about our problems…" she started.

"If I hadn't left? Oh no Aeris. You're the one you left! You broke your promise to me! You said you would always be with me but you left me…didn't even let me explain…"

Aeris bowed her head and bit her lower lip. She heard the hurt in his voice even though he tried to hide it with anger. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

He snorted. "It's too late for that. If you want help find someone who cares. We were finished a long time ago. I guess you never got that message…" he took a step out the door.

"Sephiroth…"

"What now?" he whirled around to face her again. "I've got better things to do than waste time here."

In the background Hojo let out a shrill shriek. It was followed by Rueh's laugh. More glass shattered and Dete was free. Rueh had revived her now. She wore the same evil smile Rueh did. They looked at each other and nodded. Then they turned to Hojo who was trying to escape. They ran at him.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Velociraptors!" he yelled as they attacked. _(A/N: Fingernails and teeth…aka fangs and claws…I'm sure you get the idea that they're really hurting him…hehehe…^_^)_

"Just…help me and then we can talk about this," Aeris pleaded.

"You don't get it do you? We're through," he said opening the cell door. He drew the masamune and cut the ropes. He didn't help her up and walked back to the door. Her hand caught his shoulder. "Let go Aeris," he said quietly.

"Not until you listen to me," she said.

"YOU DON'T GET IT! You didn't listen to me then! Why should I listen to you now?" he snapped spinning to face her.

"I was wrong…I should have let you explain…I'm sorry," she said not looking at him.

"Sorry didn't do it. You had the chance to listen to me then…but you pushed it away…ignored it…" he spun and walked down the hall towards the stairs with his arms crossed after sheathing masamune.

Aeris glanced at Rueh and Dete. They seemed to have everything under control. She looked back at Sephiroth watching him. In a spilt second she made up her mind and ran after him. She caught up with him at the stairs. She got in front of him and blocked his path.

"Listen to me Sephiroth," she said. He looked up at the top of the stairs not wanting to meet her eyes. She had caused him enough pain. "Listen!"

"Why?"

She took a deep breath. "I shouldn't have said those things that I did. I should have let you explain. I should have been more patient. I'm sorry. Will you forgive me?"

"…I don't know Aeris…you were the only one to show me what love was…and then you broke my heart…"

"NO! I didn't mean to! Please!" Sephiroth still wouldn't look at her. She sighed and cupped his face in her hands making him look at her. 

"Aeris…"

"Please Sephiroth…explain it to me now…"

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After a minute he opened his eyes. "…very well. That note was from Tifa…I had asked her to order something for me. She got it and sent me that note telling me that it had come in and that she would meet me to give it to me. I told her not to sign her name or anything in case you found it…it was to be a surprise for your birthday…"

"That…that was all it was…just Tifa telling you that whatever it was had arrived and she would give it to you…oh Sephiroth!" Aeris threw her arms around his neck.

"…Aeris?" he cautiously put an arm around her waist.

"Yes?" she asked looking up at him.

"Are you still mad at me?"

She looked down. "No…I never should have gotten mad in the first place…16 years have gone by and I've been mad for no reason…I'm sorry…"

"Look at me…" she did. He slowly lowered his face to hers. "I forgive you. Just next time listen to me before you make any judgments…" he lightly touched her lips with his.

"I will…if you promise to make me listen," she breathed.

"Deal…" he kissed her again putting both arms around her. She leaned against him.

Another shrill scream brought them back to reality.

"I didn't know Hojo could hit that note," Sephiroth had an amused look.

"That wasn't Hojo!" Aeris said pulling away from him and running back towards the lab. 

Sephiroth drew his sword and followed a step behind her.

                                    ****


	10. chapter 10

(Author's Note: Yes I know I said that this would probably be the last chapter…but Rueh gave me an idea so I'm going to use it…enjoy chapter 10!)

****

Disclaimer: FF7 and Squaresoft are not mine. Rueh belongs to Rueh. Dete is mine.

****

**Chapter 10**

**A Happy Ending…Maybe Not…**

****

Sephiroth entered the lab behind Aeris. Hojo had transformed into his snake like form. All of his tentacles pinned Rueh to the wall. His tail was coiled around Dete.

"Let them go," Sephiroth said walking forward so that Aeris was behind him.

Hojo rolled his eyes and hissed. "Why should I listen to you?"

"Funny that question has been asked a lot today," Sephiroth tilted his head to the side a bit.

Hojo shook his head. "Why do you suddenly care about these 3? I thought you we mad at each other," he said.

"That doesn't concern you. Now let them go and you'll fight me," Sephiroth said readying himself.

"Oh fine…" Hojo got an evil smile. He threw Rueh at Sephiroth.

His eyes went wide and he dropped masamune as he caught her. He set her feet down on the floor. "Rueh! Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine," she said. She ducked in time from him to catch Dete. Hojo had thrown her at them.

Caught by surprise, Sephiroth stumbled back a few steps. He set Dete on her feet. "What about you?" he asked.

"…just fine," she said.

"Look out!" Aeris yelled. Sephiroth looked up in time to cross his arms in front of his face and block the magic attack. Rueh and Dete yelled and ducked covering their heads with their arms. Sephiroth was tossed backwards into the metal cylinders. They crumpled when he hit them. "Sephiroth!" Aeris cried.

He threw pieces of metal off of himself as he sat up. Hojo was laughing. He charged forward. "Aeris! Look out!" it was Sephiroth's turn to give a warning.

Aeris dove to the side and Hojo slammed into the wall face first. Rueh and Dete laughed as he slid to the floor with a dazed look. 

"You 3 get out of here! I'll handle him," Sephiroth growled. Aeris shook her head as she got up and backed away from Hojo. Rueh and Dete stood up. Aeris stopped when she was beside Sephiroth. "Go Aeris. I'll finish this. If you 3 aren't here then there's less of a chance of me being distracted," he said.

"…oh fine. Rueh, Dete! Let's go!" Aeris said and ran for the door. Reluctantly Rueh and Dete followed her. 

Hojo had recovered. Before they reached the door he attacked them. Sephiroth leapt forward and grabbed Aeris after pushing Rueh and Dete to the floor. The attack hit him in the back causing him to fall to his hands and knees with Aeris underneath him.

He grit his teeth and grabbed his sword which was nearby. He jumped to his feet and swung at Hojo. Hojo yelled and ducked but Sephiroth then stabbed with his blade.

Hojo choked as the blade of the sword went through him. He slowly sank to the floor. Sephiroth jerked back on his sword freeing it. 

"Now you won't trouble any one else," Sephiroth said.

"…not…yet…I'm…not…done………" Hojo gasped. Light shot out from him engulfing everything in the room.

Aeris, Rueh, Dete, and Sephiroth had to shield their eyes. It took a few minutes for the light to finally fade…

"Sephiroth!" Aeris screamed as he collapsed. She looked around and she supported his head. They were no longer in the mansion. "…the Mythril mines…"

                                    ****

"Where…where are we?" Rueh asked.

"I don't know but it's COLD!" Dete said.

They looked around at their surroundings. Everything was covered in snow. "Looks like we have to climb to get out of here," Rueh stated.

"But where is here?" Dete asked.

"Beats me. Come on," Rueh sighed and began to climb. Dete followed. IT took them a few hours to reach the top. They looked around when they did. "Everything's covered in snow!" Rueh exclaimed.

"Could we be on the ice continent? But we were just in the Shinra mansion…this doesn't make sense," Dete said.

"Oh well….hey look…it's a chocobo!" Rueh ran down the side of the big hill towards the bird. It warked and ran away. "Awww! Come back!"

"Rueh stop. We don't have time to play. We need to find a way to get back to Nibelheim…and besides I doubt you can catch a wild chocobo," Dete said catching up to her.

"Bet you I can!" 

"You can't."

"Can too!"

"Can not!"

"Can too!"

"Can not!"

"Too!"

"Not!"

"Too!!"

"Not!!"

"TOO!!!"

"Prove it then," Dete taunted.

"Fine! I will," Rueh said. They followed the tracks of the chocobo.

                                    ****

"Sephiroth?"

"…Aeris? Where are we?" he asked as he sat up.

"The Mythril mines…but how did we get here?" she asked.

"I don't know…Hojo took a lot of my energy to cast his last spell…it must have transported us here…where's Rueh and Dete?" he asked.

"I don't know!" she said. 

He sighed. "All right. We need to get back to Nibelheim…but first I need to rest and get back me energy." He pulled Aeris against him and leaned back against a rock.

"All right," she said.

                                    ****


	11. chapter 11

(Author's Note: Hello! Here's chapter 11! I hope you enjoy it!)

****

Disclaimer: FF7 and Squaresoft are not mine. Rueh belongs to Rueh. Dete belongs to me.

****

****

**Chapter 11**

****

"Hey look! It's a chocobo!" Rueh exclaimed.

Dete sighed and shook her head. "Yes Rueh it is but that is also a town and I believe that that chocobo belongs to someone who lives there."

"So?"

"So we'll have to ask to borrow it or find wild ones which if I may remind you, you haven't caught a single one yet," Dete said.

"Yet is the key word there," Rueh stated matter of factly.

"Whatever. Come on. I'm cold. Let's go to the inn and figure out what to do from there," Dete said dully. They went to the inn.

Once there they were able to get something to eat and to rest from their long walk. They got a room with 2 beds and took a short nap. When they woke up they started thinking about what to do next.

"Well we have to find mom and dad. They could still be in Nibelheim or they could be anywhere else," Dete said.

"We know that already. But where do we go from here?" Rueh asked with a little bit of annoyance.

"I'm trying to figure that out and you're not helping!" Dete snapped.

"Because you're not letting me!" Rueh retorted.

"How am I not letting you? I'm asking what you think we should do next?!"

"We should get a chocobo!"

"Then what about after that?"

"…I don't know!"

"Okay. That's what we need to figure out. Where do we go after we get a chocobo or 2," Dete took a deep breath to calm down.

"Well start thinking," Rueh said.

"I am! See? You're not helping now!"

"Who said I wanna help after we get the chocobos?"

"Oh! So you want to catch the chocobos then let me do the rest?"

"Why not? You seem to like thinking!"

"Not really but in this situation it seems as though I'll have to do all of it!"

"Fine with me!"

Dete took a deep breath. "Listen Rueh…this fighting isn't getting us anywhere. We need to work together to find mom and dad and get back to Nibelheim. So let's stop fighting and work together. All right?"

Rueh looked at her with a wary look. "Fine…for now," she said.

"All right…now. We're in Icicle Village. Where do you think mom and dad are?" Dete asked.

                                    ****

"What do we do now Sephiroth?" Aeris asked as he pulled her to her feet.

"Well. I think we should go back to Nibelheim first. If Rueh and Dete aren't there we'll have to call your friends and ask them to help us search for them. We're close to the chocobo farm so let's go there and get a chocobo," he said.

"Okay. I just hope that they're still in Nibelheim," she sighed. 

"Don't worry. They'll be all right," he smiled to re-assure her. He took her hand and led her from the caves. 

They left the caves and entered the swamp.  Aeris stayed a step behind Sephiroth the entire time so as to not get separated from him and for protection. They walked most all day with out any problems until they came to the worst part of the swamp.

"The Midgar Zolom lives around this place. Stay close to me Aeris," Sephiroth said looking around to see if the snake like creature could be seen. It wasn't.

Aeris nodded wordlessly and followed closer to him than she had been. They were halfway through this part of the swamp when something caught her eye. "Wha…what's that?" she asked.

Sephiroth turned to look at what she was talking about then turning to face her. "I don't see anything…maybe you're just a little paranoid right now…just calm down okay? Everything's going to be fine," he soothed as he brushed her bangs away from her face.

"Maybe you're right…I'm just up tight…a lot of things have happened these past 2 days that I wasn't expecting," she said shaking her head. "But I thought I saw something."

"If you see it again tell me," he turned and she followed him again as they continued on their way.

After a minute she saw the same movement again. "There it was!"

"Where?" he asked.

"Over there. By those trees," she said pointing.

They didn't move for a minute. Sephiroth watched the place she pointed at intently. He shook his head and looked around. "I still don't see it. Maybe the light is playing tricks on you…but then again maybe not!" he saw movement this time too. Aeris squealed and moved closer to him. The movement was gone as soon as he saw it though. "I think we should keep going," he said softly. Aeris nodded and they set off again at a faster pace.

They could see the edge of the swamp after awhile. But then they both saw the movement again. 

"Aeris…go! Head for the edge of the swamp!" Sephiroth shouted as the Zolom rose out of the water and lunged at them. 

Aeris took off running. She jumped over fallen trees and roots as she went. She was almost there but skidded to a stop and let out a scream as she fell backwards and another Zolom rose out of the water above her. 

Sephiroth glanced at her then jumped into the air and slashed the first Zolom with masamune. It fell to the ground. He freed his sword and ran towards Aeris.

The Zolom screeched and lunged at her as she scrambled to her feet. She screamed.

While still running Sephiroth switched his grip on masamune. He drew his arm back and threw his sword like a spear at the monster. His sword found it's mark and the monster reeled back screaming in pain.

Aeris looked up to see it thrashing about wildly trying to free the sword that was embedded in its skin.

"Aeris! Give me your staff!" Sephiroth shouted at her as he got closer. She nodded and got her staff ready for him to use. He grabbed it from her as he ran past and jumped into the air.

He held the staff above his head when he was higher than the creature's head. He slammed the staff down on its head as hard as he could as he started to fall back to the ground.

The stunned creature swayed then started to fall over. It crashed to the ground and was still. 

Sephiroth landed in a crouch. He slowly straightened and walked towards the creature. He freed the masamune and backed away from the monster. He backed up till he was beside Aeris. He handed her back her staff.

He turned when she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face against him. "Hey it's all right now," he soothed.

"Are you sure?" she asked looking at the monster.

"Yeah. Let's get out of here before more come," he said and led her to the edge of the swamp. When they were out of the swamp they turned in the direction of the chocobo farm.

                                    ****

"See! I told you I could catch a wild chocobo!" Rueh stuck her tongue out.

"Whatever. Now we need to go to Nibelheim," Dete sighed.

                                    ****


	12. chapter 12

(Author's Note: Well…this is the last chapter…I hope everyone who read this enjoyed it! It was fun typing it to say the least…especially when Rueh helped. Thank you for helping me Rueh. And thanks to the rest of you for reviewing! Enjoy the last chapter! ^_^)

Disclaimer: FF7 and Squaresoft are not mine. Rueh belongs to Rueh. Dete and Tronel belong to me. 

****

****

**Chapter 12**

**Reunions…**

****

"Rueh! Stop this crazy thing!"

"It didn't come with brakes Dete!"

"I don't care! Just stop!" Dete snapped.

After going a few more feet Rueh finally brought the chocobo to a complete stop. Dete got off as soon as it did while grumbling. Rueh slid off and pat the chocobo on top of its head ignoring Dete. They were now back in Nibelheim.

                                    ****

"We're back," Sephiroth said and shook his shoulders a bit. 

"Mmmhmm," Aeris said as she was roused from her sleep. She had fallen asleep against his back on the ride back to Nibelheim. She slid off the chocobo and he got off after her.

He sighed. "Now for another search for Rueh and Dete," he started walking towards the mansion.

"No wait! There they are!" Aeris exclaimed as they walked out of the inn.

Rueh and Dete saw them and started walking towards them.

"Are you 2 okay?" Sephiroth asked.

"Yeah…" Dete said. Rueh just nodded.

"We should talk to Cloud and Tifa before we leave to tell them that we found everyone," Aeris suggested. The other 3 groaned.

They followed her to Cloud and Tifa's house. She knocked on the door. Tifa answered it. "Aeris! Is everything all right?" she asked.

"Yes. We're fine," Aeris smiled as Sephiroth put his arm around her waist.

"Just what's going on with you 2?" Cloud asked as he walked up behind Tifa.

"Maybe we should explain…" Aeris said warily.

"Oh come in!" Tifa said and moved to the side to let them in. They went to the living room and made themselves comfortable.

"So what happened with Hojo and WHY are you 2 not yelling at each other?" Cloud asked giving Sephiroth and Aeris a confused look.

"Hojo was going to experiment on Rueh and Dete and me. But I called Sephiroth and he came and well…helped stop Hojo," Aeris shrugged at the shortened version of what had happened.

"And you 2 made up?" Tifa asked.

"Yeah. Remember that note you sent me?" Sephiroth asked. Tifa nodded.

Cloud spoke up. "What note?"

Sephiroth ignored him. "Anyways she misunderstood it. That's what caused our argument and break up."

"What note?" Cloud asked.

"It's nothing," Tifa said. "So you're back together again?"

Aeris nodded. "I was mad at him for no reason but we're going to start over in Midgar," she replied.

"That's good. I hope it works out this time," Tifa said.

"What note?" Cloud asked trying to get her attention.

"It should. Well we just wanted to stop by and tell you everything's back to normal so we'll be going now," Aeris said standing up. Sephiroth followed her to the door. Rueh and Dete followed after him. Neither had said anything for awhile now…

Tifa and Cloud walked them to the door. When it closed Cloud turned to her. "What note?" he asked.

"I told you it's nothing," she sighed.

"What was he talking about?" he asked as he narrowed his eyes.

Tifa rolled her eyed and shook her head. It was going to be a long evening.

                                    ****

                                    -4 months later-

"Tell me again why we are here?"

"Oh Cloud! We're just here for a friendly visit!" Tifa exclaimed.

"Right…" Cloud knocked on the door. It was suddenly jerked open.

"WHAT? Oh! Cloud! Tifa! I'm sorry!" Aeris quickly apologized.

"It's okay…is something wrong?" Tifa asked.

Aeris sighed. "Just a little disagreement. Hang on," she went into the next room and they followed. What they found made them stare in shock.

Rueh and Dete were standing ten feet apart and were yelling at each other. Sephiroth stood with his back to the room and looking out the window. His arms were crossed. Aeris walked up to him.

"Anyways…if YOU hadn't…"

"Oh don't you even start saying the stuff I shouldn't have done! What was I supposed to do?" Sephiroth spun around to face her.

"You could have just let him be!"

"Let him be!? After what he did…after what YOU did!"

"ME? I didn't do anything!"

"Oh sure…act innocent…"

"Nothing happened between me and him!"

"I'm sure it didn't!" Sephiroth snapped sarcastically.

"I never did anything else with Cloud besides that!" Aeris snapped back.

Cloud and Tifa looked at each other confused. What were they arguing about?

"So you admit that you did go on that date with Cloud!" Sephiroth exclaimed.

"Yes I did but that was all!" 

"What date Cloud?" Tifa asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know."

"Something tells me you do."

"What? Tifa…"

"Don't you Tifa me…"

Their son, Tronel, walked into the room after having been let into the building by one of the guards. Everyone was arguing. He went over to Rueh and Dete to see if he could get them to say what was happening…that was a bad mistake. A fight ensued.

After awhile they all calmed down. But not even 5 minutes later they were all fighting again.

And so that concludes this story…everyone lived happily ever after…(riiight)…

~End~

(A/N: Hoped you liked this story! Please review one last time! Thanks! ^_^ )


End file.
